After one and a half years of gradual consolidation, real estate in India has fathomed its own comfortable ground, and is poised at the right threshold to take a giant leap in years to come, according to the forecast of the Jones Lang LaSalle, the global real estate services firm.
While there seems to be a crisis of credibility in the real estate sector on part of the investors, a survey by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) says otherwise. It says the traditional investment options like gold, government bonds and bank fixed deposits are considered old school.
The Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry’s (MCHI) 14th India Realty Expo 2010 has expressed satisfaction over the non resident Indians (NRIs) keen interest. The MCHI said in a statement that many NRI couples were looking up and evaluating options and the Participating developers and banks have reported receiving “solid enquiries” and many expect deals to be closed.
It’s ironic that a sector worth $140 billion that has weathered the market crash twice in the last around a decade and still emerged as the fastest growing contributor to the GDP has not been granted even industry status in India.
The Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India has expressed displeasure about the proposed Model Real Estate (Regulation of Development) Act in its present form, saying it could lead to an escalation of prices of housing stock in the country by Rs 300 per sq ft.
Pune’s growth and development have coincided with the boom of the IT industry, resulting in the city’s transition a pensioners’ destination to a vibrant metropolitan city. A lot of this change has been witnessed over the last 8-10 years. The skyline of the city is now defined by apartment development – the majority of which are about 7 to 11 storeys high.
With the return of confidence in the sector, Indian real estate players are now once again looking at private equity funding. That said, the industry still depends heavily on bank debt, NBFC funding and end-user advances. This is because bank debt is a cheaper option, and also because it offers flexible tenures.
Faced with the prospect of new transactions, corporate real estate (CRE) managers have been analyzing the options of leasing versus buying a real estate space. In the recent slowdown, distinct trends have emerged among industry verticals while strategically choosing either to lease or buy real estate space. While the IT/ITES sector has been the front runner in terms of lease transactions recorded during 2H08-1H10, accounting for 41% of the total lease transactions, BFSI and Manufacturing / Industrial sectors have been dominant purchasers of office space during the same period.
Taking action on India’s environmental crisis is no longer an option – it is a necessity. Sustainable real estate presents India with an unique and enormous opportunity to make concrete progress in the country’s effort to improve its environment.
Naturally, the IT industry is not comfortable with seeing the STPI scheme go. It was slated for expiry in 2009, but the industry managed to wangle two extensions for it. The Government has provided an alternative in the form of Special Economic Zones.